Get Down and Dirty at Korea’s Boryeong Mud Festival

* This post is written by Jim Cheney , one of the Korea Blog’s Worldwide Korea Bloggers.

As children, most of us enjoyed playing in the mud. At some point, though, things changed, and it became socially awkward to go splashing about in a pool of brown goo.
However, never fear, your childhood passions continue to live on every year in Boryeong, South Korea. Covering two weekends every summer, the Boryeong Mud Festival is one of the yearly highlights for many living in and visiting the Korean Peninsula.

Begun in 1998, the festival comes from humble beginnings. Originally, the festival was simply a way to promote the skin care products made from the Boryeong mud flats. Over time though, realizing that the mud itself was drawing many more visitors than the cosmetics, the focused shifted from the mundane to the miniac.

The festival features many opportunities to get down and dirty, from mud slides, to mud wrestling, and even mud face painting. Once you get good a muddy, it’s a very short stroll to the ocean to wash off.
Daecheon Beach, next to the festival, is a very nice beach that is excellent for sunbathing or playing. There is also a fantastic boardwalk along the beach that has some excellent seafood restaurants.

On weekend evenings, there are concerts and fireworks to help you relax after playing in the mud all day.

The 2012 Boryeong Mud Festival will be held between July 14-24 near Daecheon Beach.

Boryeong can be reached by bus or train from Seoul, but make sure to book your transportation and accomedation early as things fill up quickly during the festival.

For more information, visit the Boryeong Mud Festival’s official website.

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